Tourist Sites

Sept 19

We had a walking tour at 8:30 am. It was drizzling. Our guide was fantastic. We had a 2.5 hour tour. We went through some piazza's and markets. History of the city and cathedral-and 'the David'.

The David was amazing. When you see the sculpture- instantly- see the beauty and why it is so important in the art world. The background history of michelangelo was fantastic and pulled everything together.

Having a guide is a must for certain cities-sienna, Bologna, florence and rome. The information and the ability to move ahead to front of line is so important to get a feel for the history and development of the cities. They are expensiveJ the best money spent besides Prada.

After the tour we went to the train station.=

sept. 17

Kari and I left bologna-we were and still are laughing about leaving the tip in american money.

Our new driver picked us up. Funny about these drivers-they tend to tell you everything about their relationships. This driver sang opera for 20 years. He had a recent career change because his marriage was suffering.

Arriving in Radda in Chiante was amazing. Nice sunshine and happy memories. The town was so charming. Our hotel was of course 500 years old. The room was great-the bathroom very small.

Kari and I went hiking and running. I went to take a shower and the stall was so tiny. They tried to modernize the shower with multiple body sprays. When I turned on the water the sprays were on and I flooded the bathroom. Water came shooting out and all over. I had to wipe down the walls too. Very funny.

We had a great day and dinner was so different from the evening before. We were excited for the next day.=

We met our new driver-Gioanni. He was a kept man in Miami for a few years. Missed the life-like Tom Cruise in Cocktail. Has a 14 year old son. He lives in France with his mother and doesn't speak italian.

We had a list of wineries and Siena for the day's agenda. I do not think there will be any chianti reserves left for other tourists-they are on the way to my office.

The weather was perfect. We decided to have a low key meal-pasta. When we arrived at the pizza place, it was packed. A german couple from our hotel invited us to share a table. When I sat down, my friend Mauritzio was entertaining the vespa group. It was so great to meet everyone. Kari chatted with everyone and she may be open to the idea in the future-just have to get her on my vespa at home.=

Sept 4

After livng on the edge(ledge), we drove to the picos de europa- some mountain peaks.
We had to take a winding road to some remote place. The road was very curved- Joe had his Mario Andretti face on. My hand holding the door-although after my day-I can not say anything about how other people drive.

I especially love the cow crossing signs. They are correct and since I have bonded with 2 the day before-I coukdnt resist the picture of a cow in the street.

We went through huge gorges-the scenery was amazing. We drove through one area called La Hermana- this town is so deep into the gorge-sunlight is limited to 6 months a year. I was looking for the pharmacia because I would imagine prozac and all other antidepressants would be big business. Who in their right mind could live with limited sunlight???

We went through another cute town-Potes-these tourist trap towns are really fantastic. Such a diferent life. After potes-came de la fuente.

This is where the cable carwas located- to take us to the peak. The view was great-the fact that it took over an hour to go 30 miles to tram up and back was very funny.

Joe wouldn't let me drive back-probably a good idea. =

We headed to 3 coastal areas outside the city. Estoril and cascais-nicer areas and then headed to Sintra. Sintra is a city where kings and queens had summer homes. I lost my guide book. Would have been good help.

Little did we know when we followed a castle and palace sign we were about to go hiking. I had flip flops on and joe-dress shoes andd jeans. After Madrid we take all valuables with us-so joe had 20 extra pounds on him. I wondered why we were passing people with walking sticks. We were laughing all the way to the top of the palace. Really great seeing how they lived. The palaces in spain nicer-however this one had furniture-a real sense of life and style. We bought some bread and cheese and off to Porto.

Have no idea the difference between palace and castle. The castle next door very cool.

Sept 1-2

Anyone that knows me-knows I bought every travel book on these countries and tried to plan the unplanned portion of the trip.

The guide book said a nice way to enter lisboa is from a boat ferry. Why not? We found one and realized the weather had changed from hot, sunny and bright to late fall. The boat was nice-the only issue was it did not drop us off at the terminal marked on the map.

Driving through the cities gets very tense in the car. Joe is convinced I have no sense of direction.

We drive around for an extra hour. City was not impressive. Hard to go from sevilla to any other place.

We stayed at the Sofitel. Very nice-small hotel with great staff. Went to dinner at an area known as The Docks. Tourist area. Lisboa has an unsafe feel to it. Lacks the charm of Madrid. Hard to imagine.

The next day, I went on a great walking tour of the city-guide book in hand-took public transportation all around. Nothing so special. Except lost book during tour.

Went back to get Joe off to next destination.=